Inversion
by Missingmoney
Summary: It is said that victory cannot be achieved without sacrifice. To save his sister from herself, Elsword would have gladly given up his life. However no one told him that his life was never his own.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is going to be a short series. Probably about 5 chapters at max.**

 **I got inspiration reading a fic called Paper crane. The situation here is reversed, but there are going to be similarities. So I apologize if it offends anyone.**

 **Classes...**

 **Elsword: LK**

 **Aisha: EM**

 **Rena: GA**

 **Raven: BM**

 **Eve: CN**

 **Ara: SD**

 **Elesis: CRA**

* * *

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Everyone could easily see through the lie.

Elesis was far from fine. The woman looked down at the floor. She knew full well that she deserved all the hatred she was getting.

No one felt the slightest bit bad for her expect Ara. Whatever she was feeling now was completely justified.

If she had a choice, she would rather be thrown in prison awaiting execution than dealing with this. It sounded and felt a lot easier compared to what she was feeling now.

"Will he-"

A flash of purple slammed into her throat and pinned her to the wall.

"Don't...you...dare...ask…"

Aisha spoke each word, slowly but with great force. As if to emphasize her hatred of her.

"Aisha, please." A metallic claw touched her shoulder."We promised didn't we? He's not gone yet."

With great reluctance, the mage backed away.

She could see it in everyone's eyes. How they wanted nothing more than to get away from her. It was only because of the wishes of their leader that were putting up with her at present.

The memory of what happened to him was fresh in everyone's mind. Though they had only met her three times before this, what she did was enough to garner their hatred for all time.

When she was younger, she imagined her reuniting with her younger brother after her training would be a wondrous occasion. It didn't exactly go as plan.

Their first reunion would take place in Feita. Where they met at the top of the shrine. At that given moment, her brother had without hesitation ran up to embrace her, despite his friends warning that something wasn't right.

At that point in time, something snapped. She who was a crazed killer who wanted nothing more than to kill demons just stopped. Anyone else who had did such a thing would have been torn apart immediately.

Her mind which barely functioning at that time just stared at him for several moments even after he released her. She wasn't listening to anything he was saying. All she knew was that he was her brother.

As he tried to introduce her to his friends, something just snapped. Without warning, she straight out stabbed him from behind. She recalls the terrifying screams from everyone back then, but most of all the expression her brother gave her just before she threw him aside and left.

"Wake up."

She snaps out of it when she slapped. The voice belongs to Eve. The silver queen hands her a thick book.

"What is it?" She weakly asks.

"It is his dairy. He created one the day you left him. In the event that something happened to him, he requested me to pass it onto you if possible. Otherwise to do as I please with it if not possible."

"Excuse me." Aisha says loudly as she leaves the room. It was taking everything she had to not just kill Elesis at this moment. If she continued to stay, she might have ended up doing something she could never fix.

It was Raven who left next. He wasn't as angry at her as compared to himself. The man felt like he let his friend and student down. Even if what happened to him wasn't his fault.

Rena left next. For all her experiences she has accumulated, there was little she can do in this case but wait.

In the very end, there were only three people left in the room.

"Aren't you going to leave as well?" Elesis wonders.

"I don't see why I should."

"I don't blame you. Elsword knew the risk when it came to saving you. Leaving you in such a state would be disrespecting his memory."

If she could be honest, it would have been a lot easier for them to just hate her like everyone else.

"Besides, it is not like we are unaware of the contents inside." Eve casually said much to her surprise.

"When he was injured, he stubbornly would try to continue writing even if it hurts. So at times, we had to write it down for him. Aisha once took it from him and threatened to reveal it's entire contents if he didn't stop writing in such a state. She did agree to write for him though at times. Likewise with us. It also didn't help that he often was pretty careless with it. Leaving it around for people to see."

She couldn't help but laugh. It was the first time she did so in a long time. "Trust him to be so stubborn and forgetful. Rain or shine, nothing stops him once he sets his mind on something."

Yet as soon as she recalls such a trait, her mood instantly reverts back. For it is this very reason that he isn't around anymore.

In order to save her, he had taken the risk of challenging one on one despite knowing the difference in power. She had beaten him down time and again, but no matter how badly she had beaten him, he never stopped reaching out to her. It was ultimately by her own hand that her brother fell.

"Should we leave if it's bothering you?" Ara noticed the change and wondered if she needed some space.

She shook her head. "No it's fine. It's just that, I'm quite afraid to read this."

"You don't have to if you don't want too. I was only asked to give it to you, what you do with it is your choice."

"No, just give me a second."

Taking a deep breath the red head opened the dairy.

" _Day one. My sister has left me. It's kind of lonely even knowing why she did. I continue to practice what she taught me. During the evenings, I visit the village in hopes of finding Lowe. Since sis isn't around anymore to guide me, he's the next best in line. He tells me that in order to be a knight, I have to first be stronger, and I need to have a proper character befitting one. How rude."_

Both Elesis and Ara couldn't help but former was well aware though he had the makings of a knight since young, his cocky attitude needed to be changed first. Something she failed to knock out of his head.

The next few pages were mostly about him adjusting to life on his own. There were even some dates where he skipped out because nothing of interest happened. Even so, she continued to read.

" _Day nine hundred and seventy. It's been nearly three years since my sister left. Today's the day I set out on my journey. Banthus stole the El shard, so I'm on my way to retrieve it. Just when I was setting out, I got stuck with a know it all magician name Aisha and and a cute but scary elf name Rena. Rena's fine, but Aisha is so annoying."_

"Yeah, Rena told me that Aisha and Elsword took some time to get used to each other." Ara chuckled as she flipped the page.

The next few pages surprised her. It was a topic she had completely forgotten about, but one that played a huge role in her life.

" _Day thousand and one. We figured out who was it that hired Banthus to steal the shard. It was Wally. Can't believe that a leader could be so selfish. Doesn't he know what the people are like now?"_

Her grip tightened over the book as she continued to read. Wally was the reason why she started on this dark journey to begin with. Her methods back then just wasn't cutting it. The scum just hid behind the law and his citizens. It was then did she meet Luichel. A woman who started her down this path.

Inwardly she cursed that woman, but just as quickly as her anger came, it vanished even faster. She knew that while it was her who influenced her to take this dark path, the choice was ultimately hers.

"Are you alright?" Eve noticed her condition. "I noticed your tension level is rising."

Quickly she took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm fine. It's just that I have nothing but bad memories regarding Wally."

"Then you should be happy to know that he is no more."

"What?" Elesis asked immediately. She knew that she let him get away when she was hunting him down.

Ara placed one finger over Eve's lips. "No spoilers. She hasn't gotten to that part yet." Turning back to Elesis, she told her to continue.

And so she did. The pages that followed explained how her brother had worked alongside the townsfolk to stop Wally.

" _Day thousand and four. Can't believe it worked. Aisha and Rena actually pretended to let themselves be captured by those incompetent guards so as to get inside. Once inside, the two wrecked the whole place and opened the gates from within before I joined in alongside some of the townsfolk who agreed to join us. Wally never saw us coming. The three of us lead the attack and tore down everything in his path, even his big stupid robot stood no chance. Too bad he had a second one he kept in reserve and used it run away. Well can't be helped. At least the townsfolk no longer have to worry about him. Heard they wanted us to stay one more night so as to throw us a party for helping get rid of him. Hell yeah! Just wish sis was here to see me now."_

"He-he did it." She muttered proudly. "He actually did it."

She was unable to stop herself from shedding a tear. She felt great pride in her little brother but also a great sense of shame.

It was here did she realized she had failed to live up to his beliefs. When he was put in the same position as her, he held fast to the beliefs that she had taught him. He chose a path that would yield the same results but one where he would remain honest to himself.

The girl sighed in resignation before she continued to read. The next pages brought a smile to her.

" _Day thousand and five. What was I thinking asking Aisha for help? I know I need help in overcoming my weakness to magic, but she didn't have to brag about it which is why I should at least learn a little about it. It's hard enough admitting I need help, but now she expects me to be her servant? Forget it."_

" _Day thousand and six. Thank you Rena for smacking some sense into Aisha. When that girl's demanded me to call her mistress, she gave her a kick to the face and told her not to be so arrogant. If anything she should feel a sense of accomplishment that someone trusts her enough to teach. Her ego got a little better afterwards."_

"He's got good friends." She thought out loud.

" _Day thousand and nine. I've been spending more time with Aisha lately. She's quite a good girl as long as you don't feed her ego. She told me about the basics of magic and some ways to get around it. I probably won't go down the path of magic, but it's nice to at least learn about it. I learnt that she's surprisingly not as girly as I first thought."_

The next few pages were mostly talking about their journey to Bethma and how he spent his time with them, especially Aisha.

"He seems really happy."

Even though there were complaints left and right about the terrible travelling conditions, she could sense the joy he felt when doing so.

"You should enjoy moments like this." Eve suddenly spoke up, causing Elesis to look at her. "They won't last much longer."

"What do you mean?"

Ara placed one hand on her shoulder and answered. "What she means is the nature of his journey is going to take a turn for the worse. Just keep reading."

Steeling herself, she continued to read. The tone of the contents started to change when it reached Bethma.

" _Day thousand and twenty. I got into a fight with a total stranger. While in an inn, we were trying to gather information about where Wally ran to, when I heard someone mention about a girl in red wielding a sword while using powerful flames. As I listened she told me that she had seen her, she asked me why I wanted to know. When I told her I might her brother, she scoffed saying she wanted nothing to do with me. I pursued the matter at hand and learnt that she was talking about leader of the red knights. Velder's most powerful faction of knights. Certainly I can easily see my sister being the leader of such a group, but I will never believe that she would use fear and brutality to complete her goals."_

"So that's what you mean." The crimsonette smiled bitterly.

She noticed in the way he wrote, that he was growing more frustrated. As his journey continued, he continued to seek out information regarding her. Everything he learnt went against the image he had of her, and she noticed that he was getting rather...aggressive.

"It's getting harder to read isn't it?" Ara sat next to her. "Often I would catch glimpse of him crying when he thinks no one was looking."

"Why is that?"

She was afraid of the answer, but she wasn't going to run anymore.

"It's because of you." Sighing, she looked to the ceiling. "I have a brother I looked up too. Our relationship was similar to you and your brother."

"I take it something happened to him?"

It was Eve who answered. "Her brother was twisted by demons into becoming one of them. There was barely a hint of his former self. Much like you were before."

"I-I see…" Elesis stuttered. It was painful to be compared to the demons, but there was no helping it.

"Just wondering, why did you go down this route?"

Should she answer that question?

"You don't need to answer if you don't feel like it. I noticed you were becoming more tense when reading the recent pages. I believe you should stop first." Eve glanced to the side. The sun was setting.

"Ah…" Ara covered her mouth. "I completely forgot about that. We've been reading for hours!"

Closing the book, Elesis realized she needed to take a break. "I'll read the rest later. Besides, I think I need to go somewhere else first."

Both girls nodded. "You should avoid Aisha for now. She'll calm down eventually, so don't worry too much about her."

Elesis knew that it was the mage who was most angry with her. The others were willing to give her a chance despite their rightful anger, so they would accept her to some extend, but probably not her.

Putting away her brother's dairy. She left the room.

The cold freezing winds was a comfort to her. How long had it been since she felt so vulnerable? Always striving to improve herself so as to never experience something like this. She never stopped to rest unless it was necessary, never thinking about such things.

Looking back at it now, she realizes that she is not much different than her brother. Both of them had one tracked minds that didn't know when to quit. The only difference was that he knew how to accept help from others, whereas she didn't.

Even though she should changed into warmer, she couldn't bring herself to do so. Her entire journey to the hospital was a chilly one.

It was weird walking around when people looked on at her. She looked like a whore drawing looks of confusion and lust as opposed to the time when they looked on at her in fear. The girl was starting to realize just how much her actions had affected not just her life, or her brother's, but everyone else around her.

It was fortunate than, that she wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone at present.

Looking up at the hospital, she wondered if she really had the right to be here. Regardless she pressed on.

Her destination was on the top floor. There was only one thing she was worried about.

"What took you so long?"

She flinched at the voice who called out to her the moment she walked in. Standing in front of her destination was Aisha.

Though unlike earlier, she wasn't angry at her. Instead she looked as if she was awaiting some sort of punishment from her.

"Is he-"

The elemental mage shook her head. "They say the chances he'll live is very small, and even if he does live, there is going to be permanent damage to him physically, and perhaps mentally as well."

The very news almost broke her even after she prepared herself mentally.

"So...are you going to kill me?"

Elesis wouldn't mind it. Being killed one of his friends didn't sound so bad at this point in time.

"No…if anything, I should be apologizing."

Her apology was like a punch to the gut. She didn't deserve to be treated this way. And most especially by the one who should be hating her the most.

"Aren't you angry? Don't you want to kill me?"

"It would be a lie to say that I don't want to just drop a meteor on you, or perhaps freeze you or just shock you to death." Aisha let out a sigh as she took a seat. "But let's face it. While we all hate you, it's nothing compared to how much we all hate ourselves."

"Why?"

She gestured towards the bed where her brother was.

Strapped to the bed on life support, was her brother. His body entire had been broken. All sorts of injuries were inflicted onto him. From slash, to blunt force to severe burns. It was a miracle there was enough left of him to recognize him.

Her heart almost stopped as she observed the right portion of his body.

"Terrible isn't it?" Aisha wiped the tears that were coming out from her eyes. "Both his right eye and arm are both gone for good. Even if he recovers, his life as a knight is over. In fact, he'll probably have to leave us because he would no longer be able to keep up with the dangers involved, and that's not even considering the possibility of mental damage which according to the doctors is quite high. Eve might have be able to do something about his arm, but his eye is another story. And...even the rehabilitation period of such methods would take a long time. He'll have to learn an entirely new style of fighting, and so by the time he can fight again, everyone would be too far ahead of him to matter."

"Doesn't this give you more reason to hate me?" She took a seat next to her brother but her gaze was on his friend.

"It does, but it also makes us hate ourselves more as well."

Elesis can easily see how difficult it is for her. She wants to say something, but everything she's been saying so far just makes it worse. So she remains quiet.

"You know the day before your duel with him, he told of us that this might happen. Everyone believed that you were beyond saving. Even Raven did." She laughed bitterly. "But not him. He wanted one more chance to try and save you, so he asked for the most ridiculous thing ever. For us to not interfere with him as he fought you one on one. Needless to say, everyone was horrified at his suggestion. They became even more so when admitted that he might die."

The red haired woman looked at her brother with a sad smile. "He was right."

"I know." Aisha sniffed. It was taking all her willpower not to break down at this point. "We all tried to convince him otherwise, but he wouldn't listen. It was the first time Raven lost his temper. It was the first time even Rena's anger couldn't convince him to back down. Ara broke down when she wasn't able to convince him to stop."

"What about you and Eve?"

"We took it the hardest." Aisha sighed. "Eve really lost it. Even though she was supposed to have lost all emotions, she still couldn't help but explode in anger when he suggested such a thing. I remember it clearly. Though her voice sounded emotionless, her actions said otherwise. She practically pinned him to the ground slapped him over and over again all the while calling him an idiot, moron, foolish, and so many more names. All the while trying to convince him to at least look for another solution. In the end though, he chose to go along with his plan regardless. She warned him however that if he were to fall, she would kill you without hesitation before she left."

The elemental master gently stroke the boy's face. "As for me, when I couldn't convince him through reason, I decided to use the one language we were both strongest at. Fighting. I told him if he wanted to go through with that stupid plan, he would have to go through me. It was a hard thing to do. I couldn't bring myself to fight him seriously and he knew it. So in the end I lost and had to let him pass. And the rest is as you know it."

Elesis didn't know what to say to her. She just sat next to her in silent watching over her little brother. Wondering what could she do to make this right again. So much had been ruined because of her, and she had no idea where to begin fixing it.

* * *

 **Now I mentioned before I dislike the Elsword x Aisha pairing, but that's not entirely true.**

 **I actually like LK x EM, but that's the only pairing of the duo I enjoy.**

 **It's because the two of them out grow the childish fighting phase by a lot. Which no longer annoys and instead I consider quite sweet, since despite Aisha still housing some tsundere tendency, it's no longer annoying or violent.**

 **As for Eve? I enjoy her interactions even more after reading the novels.  
(Damn Volume 4. Cock blocking a Rena x Eve and an Elsword x Eve moment)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Personally, I don't think I'm doing a good job with this story. I feel like I'm missing something, I don't know what though. Any ideas on how to improve it?**

 **I owe nothing but the plot.**

* * *

"Are you feeling any better?"

"Honestly, I still feel like crap right now." Elesis sighed.

Rena smiled bitterly as she poured her a cup of tea. The archer sat on the bed looking at her.

"I don't know what to do now."

The red hair woman looked out the window and sighed.

"You know, I met with Aisha some time ago when visiting my brother. I was expecting her to beat me to a pulp. Instead, we had a talk before going our separate ways."

"That's a surprise."

Rena was honestly surprised. She would have stopped Aisha if that happened, but she was certain that Aisha would definitely lash out at her.

"The fact that you're pouring tea for me is also a surprise."

Rena flinched. She knew Elesis didn't mean anything bad by that. "I know. I'm still having mixed feelings about the whole thing."

"I heard everyone thought it would be better if I was put down. Kind of wish you had gone through with that."

"I should probably kick you in the face for that remark, but I won't. It kind of defeats the point of saving you." Rena said to her.

A part of her was angry, but another part was confused. The Archer could have stopped her friend from doing something as stupid as that if she wanted too. Yet she chose to let it happen. It would be hypocritical to be angry at Elesis.

Yet she wasn't able to deny what she was feeling. Many years of living had taught her to control her emotions. The others weren't able to do so as well as her. Even Eve and Ara while they were taking it better than them, weren't as well as her.

"What are your plans now?" Elesis asked. "I certainly don't have any."

The woman was feeling lost. She couldn't go back to being a knight. Not after she had turned her back on teachings and failed the men who followed her. But worst of all, she failed her brother who loved her dearly. And the brother who gave up his future for hers.

"We...won't be able to stay for long."

Rena admitted with a heavy heart. Even though the crisis regarding Elesis had passed, the demon invasion hadn't. Many places across the world was being attacked. And the search party was one of the most prominent fighting forces humanity had. They couldn't simply sit this event out. It was painful, but they knew they would likely have to leave Elsword behind even if he were to somehow recover.

"I...see…"

Elesis resigned herself to her unknown fate. What was she to do now? Watch over her brother and see if he survives? Fight the demons? Or just give up?

The powerful spirit she had that made her charge forth in the past was nowhere to be seen at present. Now all that was left was a lonely girl lost in the world.

"But...there's still some time before we go. I'll be here if you need me." The elf truly desired to help her even if there wasn't much she could do. "So lighten up. Beating yourself over what you did wouldn't solve anything. You may still have a chance to fix this."

Elesis looked down at the tea in her hands before drinking it. "I know that. I know that nothing's going to change if I don't something." The former mad woman hugged herself. "Yet, I don't know what to do. I'm afraid of doing something. My brother just gave up his future to save mine, and possibly his life as well. How could I not be afraid? What if I make things worse? Or worse, I go down the same path again?"

Rena wrapped one arm over her shoulder. "That's why you have to take your time. You got a second chance that not many people will ever have. Make good of the life that your brother gave you. You wouldn't want to disappoint him now will you?"

Elesis started to sob. She didn't make any attempts to push Rena away. They just sat there together as the former knight cried. They remained there until Elesis cried no more.

"Thank you. And sorry you had to see such a sight."

"It's fine. Children shouldn't be afraid to cry."

Elesis smiled sadly. "You sound like an old woman."

Her companion mimicked her actions. "Funny, your brother said the same thing when I did the same to him."

The two laughed at that for a while. After settling down, Rena decided to change the topic.

"Have you read it?"

"His dairy?"

The elf nodded. She too was aware of the contents. Elsword didn't exactly take good care of his things. Often leaving it out in the open for someone to take.

"Come to think of it, I still haven't apologized to him for reading it." Rena smiled as she took the dairy from the table. "How far did you read until?"

"After Bethma. I stopped at the point after Raven shot you all out of the skies."

Rena cringed. That wasn't a good memory. It was fortunate that the trio survived the attack. No one really blamed Raven for the attack, but it would be a good while before any of them ever set foot on an airship again.

Not that she would ever let the group know that she was afraid of heights.

"I...see. What do you think so far?"

Elesis paused to consider the question before replying. "To be honest. I'm jealous of him and embarrassed of myself."

"Why?"

Embarassed was not something Rena would have thought she would use to describe herself.

"Because it made me realize how hypocritical I have been." Elesis sighed. "I used to tell my brother about the virtues of being a knight, yet I turned my back on it. The 'justice' I used was no more than brute force and violence. Certainly, I dealt with evildoers, but I also ended up hurting those around me."

"Elsword isn't perfect either."

"I know, but learning how he handled the same challenges I faced, I can clearly say he took a much better route than me."

Rena didn't argue with that. She simply kept quiet. The girl was aware that violence begets violence. Solving one issue in such a manner would only lead to another in the future. It was why she didn't say anything and allowed Elesis to continue.

"I was prideful. Ever since young, I had power. A lot of it. It was why I felt like I could take on anything."

"You didn't know what it was like to be weak?"

Elesis nodded, curious how she was aware of it.

Rena smirked as she opened the book and passed it to her. "Here keep reading. You'll find out how we know about such a thing."

Elesis did so and continued to read.

" _Day Thousand and ninety. It hasn't been a good day. Me, Aisha and Rena were injured in an ambush led by a guy named Raven. He stole the shard and left us to die. Thankfully we were able to make it out alive, though the three of us were injured. We crashed near a village where Pongos lived. They gave us medical help and some information."_

"It still hurts when I think about that crash." Rena sighed. She had broken her arm back then and injured her leg from the attack. Aisha got it the worst of the three, while Elsword got off lightly.

" _Day Thousand hundred and one. We finally we were able to catch up to Raven. The Pongos were geniuses. They helped me and Rena get onto Raven's ship and gave us treatment. My injuries and Rena's have mostly healed. Aisha had to stay behind because of her injuries. They were tough, but me and Rena took most of them down. It looked like we were going to win until Raven showed up. He easily beat me and Rena down. We had to make a retreat. Good thing Rena destroyed the engines on the way out, grounding them for a period of them."_

" _Day Thousand hundred and two. Even though Aisha was still hurt, she stubbornly came along with us. It worked out well though. I got hurt protecting Aisha from Raven's attack, but she got even when she zapped him with a lightning bolt. That arm really doesn't take electricity well."_

"Raven got that arm remodeled after Eve joined us. Being a good conductor of electricity was a huge weakness on his part."

Elesis continued to read.

" _Day Thousand hundred and eight. We all recovered and Raven joined us. The guy's really strong but too serious. Me and Aisha are having some trouble interacting with him. Well we'll get used to it. On a side note, he's really strong. I wonder if-nah, sis is definitely stronger than him."_

"He holds me too highly in regard." Elesis scoffed.

Even through her madness she can recall how Raven was able to hold his own in a fight against her. Among the group, he was the strongest without a doubt.

" _Day Thousand hundred and sixteen. I can't believe I made such a stupid mistake! After one week of travelling we made it out the mines. Too bad we ran into problems immediately. Two Nasods, Ignis and Leviathan attacked us. They were a pain to deal with. Protected by some barrier that made all attacks useless on it. It ran on a generator so it was a saving grace. Aisha and Rena took out the generators while me and Raven beat the two down. Raven easily took down Leviathan, while I dealt with Ignis. Unfortunately I wasn't strong enough. Ignis upon realizing he was at a disadvantage used all his power for a suicidal attack. I saw it coming but I couldn't stop it. Rena shielded me with her body and got hurt badly. It's all my fault."_

The former knight looked to her companion who sheepishly laughed. "It...wasn't that bad. He's just exaggerating it."

While the extent of her injuries wasn't that bad. Elsword still believed it to be. The archer knew he was just concerned about it and was grateful for it.

"Elsword really blamed himself for that injury. He apologized many times for it, despite me telling him that it wasn't his fault."

Elesis sighed. "Sounds like him alright."

Elsword was prideful in his skills and strength, but that was also why he also took it heavily upon himself to ensure his friends didn't get hurt, and why he would take it the hardest if they did.

The sister of said boy returned to the book. She read how he pleaded with Raven to teach him swordsmanship. Saying how he felt the need to grow stronger so that what happened to Rena wouldn't happen again.

"After the incident, Elsword changed."

Rena felt regretful as she recalled that period. "The boy no longer laughed as much as before and he was certainly not as impulsive as before either. However it made me and Aisha feel a little lonely. Elsword spent less time with Aisha, and he certainly didn't react much to her antiques. Even when she provoked him on purpose."

"Guilt over not being able to protect his friends…" Elesis muttered something softly. The girl recalled the time she had her squadmates killed in the ambush. She wondered if she ever considered them friends or just comrades.

" _Most likely the latter."_ She realized as there wasn't much interaction between them.

With the exception of Penensio, most of the members were wary of her. Her frightful method of fighting and execution of tactics scared them. She knew that, but didn't make any effort to change it. She felt like she didn't have the right the mourn them as it was her fault for their deaths.

"Did he get better?"

Rena chuckled. "Oh he got better alright, but it wasn't by my hand that he did. Keep on reading, you're almost there."

" _Day thousand hundred and twenty eight. It's been nearly a week since Raven started teaching me. It's quite different from the time sis was teaching me, but it's not so bad. I'm learning new things after all. We made it to the enemy headquarters. Tomorrow is going to be a long and difficult day. We'll storm the base and take back the shard from the Nasod King."_

" _Day thousand hundred and twenty nine. My body hurts all over. Then again, so does everyone's. The battle was harder than we thought, but we made it. We had taken down the Nasod King after a long battle and retrieve the El. However as we did so, a girl sleeping in a pod woke up. She glanced at me for some time not moving. When I went up to her despite other's protests, she slapped me. Her name is Eve. Apparently she was the former queen of the Nasods. Something went wrong when she revived the Nasod king. Even though everyone is warning me of how dangerous she could be, I still offered her my hand. In front of me, I didn't see a dangerous machine, but rather a lonely girl. She looked like me back when sis left, I couldn't leave her behind."_

"Elsword's life really changed upon meeting with Eve." Rena felt a little jealous at the relationship the two had. "For a while, things were really awkward with them."

This peaked the sister's interest. She continued to read.

" _Day thousand hundred and thirty. Wow Eve is quite clueless. She really has no idea how to go around. She acts like a proper lady, but is quite clueless in reality. For all her smarts, she isn't aware that the pongos aren't very welcoming of her. They are in fact of afraid of her. It wasn't until I told her that did she knew. Afterwards, she just locked herself in the room. I waited outside trying to get her to come out during dinner. She said she wasn't interested, so I delivered the food to her. She slapped me for it and told me to leave her alone."_

"Elsword was a little sad about that incident, but he did his best not to show it." Rena said to her. "Eve actually ate the dinner he brought her and left the tray outside. I should know, I was the one who bought it down to the staff at the inn."

"I heard the group disbanded for a while afterwards." Elesis questioned her.

"Yes." Rena nodded. "Me, Elsword and Eve went back home together. Since my home was near Ruben. Raven went on a journey to better himself, while Aisha went back to looking for her powers."

"Eve went with Elsword?"

Elesis did notice that Eve had a close relationship with him. Were they more than friends?

"Eve had nowhere to go after the battle, so she went with Elsword. The two of them lived together for several months in Ruben after the battle."

"Wait." Elesis cut her off. "Several months? Didn't the demons invade a year after the battle with King Nasod?"

"Keep reading."

Rena didn't want to talk about what was coming next. It would be better if Elesis found out about it herself.

So, she did.

 _"Day thousand two hundred and fourteen. It's been some time since Eve started to live with me. At first she's been rather silly, but I've grown to welcome her. Man, it's been kind of lonely without the others. I miss everyone. From loudmouth Aisha, to big sis Rena, and even old man Raven. Was this was travelling felt like? I think I can see why big sister went of on her journey. Meeting so many new people."_

Elesis thought back to herself. The woman didn't have any real good memories ever since she went down the dark route. Every day was mostly missions. Her method of doing things scared too many people away, making it difficult for people to interact with.

Another reason she was envious of her brother. He learnt to cherish the people around him better than she did.

" _Day thousand two hundred and sixteen. Today...was a bad day. I don't know how to describe what I'm feeling. Lowe came to my house today and told me some horrific news. The Red Knights had been annihilated entirely an ambush. My heart stopped the moment he told me that. I was in instant denial. I kept telling him that it couldn't be true. That my sister wasn't dead. He told me that she wasn't. And that investigations showed that she might have survived the ambush. I was relief. However he pulled another piece of news that shocked me. He claimed that my sister was indeed the leader of the group, but she wasn't the person I made her out to be. She had changed, no longer was she the happy and carefree knight that we all looked up too. She was just a monster now. Using whatever methods needed to get the job done. No matter how evil or twisted she had to be. The people were actually glad she was dead. I punched him for that."_

Elesis looked to Rena. Fear was evident in her eyes. "My god…please..."

Her heart beat faster as she imagined what her brother was feeling at this moment. She never thought about it until now. Back then, when she started to take up the dark arts, there was one thing she was truly afraid of. Letting Elsword find out about it. At first it was a fear that ate away at her. However over time, as she lost herself in her work, she began to forget about it.

Until now.

Now that she was reading about it from his perspective, the fear not only returned, but stronger than before.

Rena noticed the change Elesis was displaying and placed one hand over her shoulder but didn't say anything. The most she could do now is be there for her.

"Thank you." Elesis was truly grateful that she wasn't alone.

Taking some time to steady herself, Elesis began reading again. The first thing she noticed was that the writing had changed. It was more...elegant. And the the contents were a little different.

"Elsword's life became a lot harder afterwards." Rena warned her in advance as she got up. The elf decided to brew some more tea. She was certain Elesis was going to need it soon.

"This handwriting is…"

"It's Eve's." Rena answered. "Your brother was in no condition to write anything for some time after that day."

" _Day thousand two and twenty seven. Honestly, it would be easier if he used numbers instead of letters. Elsword hasn't come back after running away yesterday. I decided to search for him. I found him deep in the forest under the tree of El. He wasn't himself. Sitting underneath a tree under a heavy rain crying. The boy didn't even spare me a glance as I approached him. I attempted to make conversation with him, but he ignored me all the way. How rude. Yet despite all this, I did not turn away for reasons unknown. All he did was mutter the same lines over and over again. I remember it clearly._

' _She's not dead. She's nothing like that.'_

 _He was clearly trying to convince himself that the people's perception of his sister was wrong. The news was clearly a great shock to him. Hearing rumours from strangers was easy, but hearing it from his teacher and the people he knew since young held a far greater impact._

 _I stood by his side until he fainted from exhaustion before taking him home."_

"Eve…" Elesis knew she owed the Nasod queen a huge debt of gratitude. Taking care of her brother when he needed it the most. It was something she should have done but didn't.

" _Day 1228. I decided to use numbers instead of spelling as it is easier. As expected, Elsword came down with a terrible fever. However it would appear that he has calmed down. His character has changed. He has become quiet and reserved. He barely shows any reaction to my words or actions. Even though I have no emotions, I still believe in things like gratitude. He has given me a home, and looked after me, so I should repay that favour. After delivering his lunch to him, I returned to the village to seek to Lowe. I questioned where he obtained the knowledge from. He tells me that as a former knight, he had connections. I questioned him regarding Elesis, however he claims that only those rank of captain and above in the military were privileged to that information. As he had left the military, he no longer had any rights to that information. I returned home satisfied with what I've learnt. As expected, Elsword regained some life when I told him I knew how to find Elesis. Even while sick, he threw himself at me and hugged me without warning while thanking me. I would have slapped him for this, but I let it slide given...how he wasn't himself."_

Elesis chuckled. "It's like she can't be honest with herself."

"That's Eve for you." Rena said as she walked in with a tea pot. "I brew some fresh tea to drink later."

Elesis really appreciated the support she was getting.

" _Day 1229. Elsword is recovering quickly. He has made up his mind. He wishes to join the Velder knights. However there are several things stopping him. The first is that he is worried about my wellbeing. It...is certainly a justifiable concern given that I was not built for combat. The second was that if I could take care of myself. I scoffed at this problem. I admit, I am still confused regarding the ways of the world, but not to the point that I can not see people for who they are. I made a request asking to stop at Elder on the way there. I am aware that I am unable to keep up with the dangers in my condition. Modifications will have to be made."_

The next few pages were about their journey towards Elder. Elsword had so much on his mind that he had forgotten to update his dairy, leaving it in the hands of Eve.

"Hmm?" She noticed that the writing had changed again.

" _Day thousand two hundred and thirty. Wow, I didn't think I troubled Eve this much. I was really so selfish. I should have been taking care of her, but she ended up taking care of me. Eve came to Elder to find Echo. Apparently she says something about getting something from her. She went to the workshop and hasn't come out the whole day."_

The next few pages were about him waiting for Eve to settle her business.

" _Day thousand two hundred and thirty-six. Eve finally came out of the workshop. I was really surprised. She looked so different. More grown up. She said that she was 'upgrading' herself. Now she changed her code into something called 'Exotic.' A unit that was designed for combat. She can easily protect herself now. I feel rather bad though. She was originally a builder, now she's a war machine. I feel like it's my fault for making her go down this route."_

" _Day thousand two hundred and thirty-seven. We resumed our journey. Even though I really dislike the idea, we ended up taking an airship. There wasn't much to do on it. It was hard to practise swordsmanship and Eve didn't have enough space to work. We ended up spending hours looking outside the window in our room. It's kind of embarrassing, but I fell asleep while talking to Eve. It seems that I haven't been getting much rest lately. Eve watched over me while I asleep. I better find a way to thank her later."_

Elesis giggled. Even from reading this book, she could easily imagined the relationship the two had.

"If you ever joke about calling them boyfriend and girlfriend, it could get ugly." Rena brought one hand against her cheeks. "Elsword said that they were really good friends. Eve said not to be absurd. Even I got slapped for that remark."

The topic of their relationship was better of left unspoken. They were more than friends but less than lovers. Or at least that was how it appeared to everyone around them.

"That's a surprise." Elesis honestly remarked before resuming the reading.

" _Day thousand two hundred and thirty-eight. We finally made it to Veldar. The town is quite on edge for reasons unknown. I attempted to sign up to join the knights as soon as possible. And everything went wrong. At first everyone was just minding their own business. Until I signed up. They asked why I wanted to be a knight, and I told them I wanted to follow in Sis's footsteps. I remembered everyone suddenly staring at me when I told them big sis Elesis was my role model. The guy then called my sister the red bitch. I got so pissed off and got into a fight with him. Everyone joined in afterwards trying to beat me. Eve supported me, but it was a hard fight and we barely held our own. It was broken only when the commander Lento arrived. Needless to say I didn't get in and Eve got hurt because of me. I feel horrible getting her mixed up in this."_

"I knew that he was going to suffer because of what I did, but I'm not sure if I was really prepared for it." Elesis muttered to herself.

Yet despite her fears, she pressed on.

" _Day thousand two hundred and thirty-nine. The people's attitude towards me suddenly changed. Yesterday everyone looked like they were minding their own business to me, but today they've become a lot colder. Everyone is avoiding me. Word has spread that I'm Elesis's little brother and they aren't taking it well. They keep calling her all sorts of terrible things. I got into many fights today. I really want to go home, but if I did that, I'll never find out what happened to sis. I asked Eve if she would prefer to go back, but she stubbornly refuses to leave. I really the others were here, they would be able to support Eve better than me. I went back and tried my hand at enlistment. Thankfully, Lento was there. He was a reasonable person who offered me a chance to join provided I prove myself. I told Eve that I would be away for some time as I undergo the trials to prove myself worthy."_

"The handwriting changed again." Elesis noted it switched back to Eve.

" _Day 1240. Elsword mentioned that he won't be back for some time. So he asked me to watch over his belongings. Today was spent walking around town gathering information and whatever supplies I can use to continue my research. I noticed many talking about Elsword and his relationship to what they call 'red bitch' and 'red monster.' They did not even attempt to hide their disdain of Elsword. What I found was that the Red Knights were the most powerful group in Veldar. Often they were entrusted with the most difficult and dangerous missions, and most of it's members were feared for various reasons. Elesis it's leader was the worst of them."_

The next few pages were mostly about the same, so she read through them quickly.

" _Day 1245. Elsword has returned, but something is wrong. He made it into the knights, and is the youngest in history to do so. An impressive feat, one to be proud off. However clearly something is bothering him. Instead of celebrating, he retreats to his room. He claims to be exhausted, but even I can tell that he is lying. The way he moves when he was with me. It wasn't natural. I could tell that he was injured and was trying to hide it. How foolish of him. Does he believe that I would accept that? It is fortunate that I could download the skills needed to treat him. I confronted him in his room and forced him to settle down. I have to admit, I was surprised by the level of injuries he had obtained and moreso the nature of it. Most of it was done by humans, I could tell from one look alone. It must be difficult to even move around with those. Yet he laughs and tells me not to worry. It was obtained from the trails he says. I choose not to question him...for now. Tomorrow starts his first day as a Veldar knight. I hope the fool knows what he is doing. He hasn't been himself lately."_

Without warning, Rena slams the book shut. "Ok that's enough."

The elf takes the dairy from her hands. "It's getting really late. You aren't doing anyone any favours if you pass out from exhaustion. You can read the rest tomorrow. Besides, his life as a Veldar knight is the start of another chapter of his life. You'll need to prepare before reading."

Elesis lets out a sigh. She doesn't want to agree but knows that Rena's right. She is getting tired. Such things can wait until tomorrow.

* * *

 **As I said before.**

 **I feel like something is missing.**

 **In the novels, it was stated that Eve modified herself into Code Exotic on her own so as to keep up with the dangers in the journey. Though it doesn't specify how she did.  
You know, a plot hole just kind of came up.**

 **In the normal timeline, Elsword trained normally and under other people and through hard work he promoted to Lord Knight. In the novels, there's a time shard for him to use to promote if he can get it to work.  
** **But here, since the setting is that there's no support since most people aren't going to guide him, I forgot to create a way for him to become one. If anyone has a suggestion, it would be nice.**


End file.
